Or soldiers in Fort Hood, gunned down by a killer attacking what the soldiers stand for — that is, Americans.

Or the 3,000 people killed for being American on 9/11.

Before going on his killing spree yesterday, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan apparently felt strongly enough about vigorously responding to even the most minor identity-based offenses to report himself as a victim of a hate crime after someone (perhaps Hasan himself) keyed his car recently. So will the feds return the favor? Will the F.B.I., newly anointed by the President with expanded powers to prosecute hate, declare the murder of 12 and wounding of 31 acts of violence “based on who the victims are”?

Will Obama stand in front of a microphone and declare that Hasan will be prosecuted as a hate criminal, to send a message that in America we will not tolerate violence committed by those who strike out at people because of their identity?

Of course he won’t.

Kill 12 Americans for being Americans and wound 31, and the president and the F.B.I. will refuse to call your actions anti-American hate crimes.

The same thing happened in the wake of 9/11: those 3,000 anti-American murders were not counted.

And the 12 murders and 31 woundings in Fort Hood will not be counted, either. We couldn’t possibly have the most prevalent form of hatred in our country (by a power of thousands) being nationality-based hatred against Americans, now could we?